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It's about a renovated stadium, a new attitude and a fresh outlook. It's about a new team. It's about rebuilding a fan base. It's about starting over.

In that last way, David Adams might be the perfect name to ink into the starting lineup. Because what member of the inaugural Scranton/Wilkes-Barre roster knows more about starting over than him?

A week and a half ago, he was arguably the New York Yankees' third baseman of the future. A week ago, he was out of work, straight-up released by the organization that drafted him and stuck with him through a frustrating string of ankle injuries because it needed a 40-man roster spot to accommodate the recent trade for Vernon Wells.

Tonight is about new beginnings, and the RailRiders will get theirs when they host Pawtucket in the first game at PNC Field since Labor Day of 2011.

Adams will get his, starting at third base just six days after he somehow wound up back in the Yankees organization.

"It was a little bit of a roller coaster ride," Adams said of the last week. "At first, shock. When it first happened, my wife and I called (Yankees General Manager Brian) Cashman. We were in utter disbelief. At the same time, it's a business and I understand where they are coming from. I haven't been healthy, and that's just part of the game."

Adams seemed to be heading into 2013 on a high note. Last season, he hit .306 with eight homers and 48 RBIs, playing in 86 games - almost 20 more than he played in 2010 and 2011 combined.

He got an invitation to big league camp, and when he got sent down to minor league camp, it was with the understanding that he needed to continue to work on his defense at third base - a position he moved to just last season from second base.

For most of the spring, he looked like his typical self at the plate, working counts, drawing walks, driving 3-2 pitches into the gaps for singles and doubles.

But across the street at Yankees camp in Tampa, a roster crunch loomed. The Yankees weren't just losing good players to injury - they were losing all-stars. By late March, it became evident that opening day in the Bronx would not include Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson or Phil Hughes.

These were players that needed to be replaced, and to help do so, the Yankees sent two lower-level minor leaguers to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for Wells.

To make the trade jive with the 40-man roster, the Yankees took a gamble: They released Adams, hoping he would clear release waivers and give them a better chance to re-sign him to a minor league deal.

"Everyone always talks about being designated and having a 48-hour window to be claimed," Adams said. "But when they told me I was outright released, that was unfamiliar territory. So, it was just like a vacation for my wife and I. A lot of down time, just waiting to see what happened next."

Vacation for the Adamses in Tampa involved more waiting than relaxing. They tried to take a trip to the International Plaza mall. It only lasted an hour, Adams smiled. Those were nervous days.

Ultimately, being placed on release waivers - the difference being that he had a right to refuse joining any team that claimed him - took care of itself. Adams re-signed with the Yankees on Friday, and by the weekend, he was on his way to the place he knew he'd be all along: PNC Field, to join the RailRiders.

The shock is out of the way, and the new beginning is just starting. For the team. For the franchise. For the ballpark. And especially for David Adams.

There are no more questions about where he'll be now.

Now, it's a matter of accomplishing the same goal he had before the chaotic final week of spring training. Improve at third base. Stay healthy. Get to the big leagues. And stay there.

"It's not an easy feat, that's for sure," Adams said of the transition to third. "I have played shortstop, so angles on the left side of the infield aren't new to me. The only thing is the reaction time, and I'm getting used to it. I'm not going to say I've mastered it by any means. But I'd like to think I'm improving every day."

Contact the writer: dcollins@timesshamrock.com @RailRidersTT

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